Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are man made chemicals brought into the world in the 1900’s. It turned out to be a chemical that made people sick so it was banned in 1979. PCBs were created because people felt that it would be an asset. They put them in electrical equipment, paint, wood floor finishes, and carbonless copy paper. PCBs stray in the soil and other areas for long periods of time. In other words this chemical cannot break down. So even though they are not wanted they are still around in different places.PCBs cause so much trouble. When you’re exposed to PCBs some health problems can occur. There can be skin damage, organ damage, and damage if you are expecting a child. Depending on how long you are around them the amount of damage changes. Those who work on PCB contaminated sites are in danger and even those who just eat things that were contaminated are in danger. PCBs aren’t just bad for people they are also very bad for animals too.People mostly scientist need to take this chemical seriously. I think they need to put more force into getting it all out of the area. They’re wasting time; everyday that they let go by is another area that is now contaminated. There are certain people that are hired to get rid of these PCBs but in my opinion I don’t think they are working as hard as they could be. PCBs aren’t good so why aren’t they doing something different?
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Background
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCBs) is a chemical that isn’t much of an asset to the community. They were once used in electrical equipment, paint, wood floor finishes, and involved in carbonless copy paper.At first this chemical seemed as though it would help and it would benefit the world, but it backfired. This chemical has no high points at all. There was never a time where it actually helped, instead it made things worse.When scientist found out that PCBs were causing problems the chemical was banned in certain areas. Sadly the damage had already been done. In most areas the chemical was not properly thrown out so it started to spread in areas where it shouldn’t have.Today you can sometimes find PCBs in fish, poultry, and dairy products. It has been banned in the United States but some places such as Europe, Asia, and Canada still have some. Those places may use the PCBs for electrical purposes but too much exposure to it will cause damage to who ever.
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Synthesis Production
The group Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals made by man that weren’t around until the 1900’s. They were created because the electrical industry felt that they needed a safer cooling and insulating fluid. PCBs were originally named “chlorinated diphenyls” and they were produced commercially as complex mixtures that contained two or more compounds with the same formula arrangement of atoms also known as isomers. Even though this chemical brought problems PCBs were used until 1979.
Since this chemical was all around harmful there was no way to tweak it to be something different. Instead it was just easier to ban them and ban the import and export of the chemicals.
Human Health Implications
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) weren’t much help to our world. In fact it turned out to be something that caused many problems. When exposed to many PCBs health issues can occur. There can be skin damage, organ damage, and damage if you are expecting a child.
One reaction to being exposed to PCBs is horrible skin damage. Most of the time depending on how much exposure, the damage can pop up as acne, rashes, and small yellow skin lesions. These skin conditions can last weeks or even years.
Also depending on how long you are around PCBs, it could change your liver to look like the livers of people who smoke and drink.
It’s a slight chance that they can cause cancer but scientists aren’t one hundred percent sure. PCBs contain cancer-causing chemicals but there is no evidence. The low level of PCBs that they find in the environment makes it hard to decipher whether or not they are the problem.
It’s very important for those who are pregnant to be very careful. Just eating contaminated fish can be a problem. Women who were exposed gave birth to children who weighed a little less compared to the women who weren’t exposed. Also there were differences shown in the infants’ behavior, those who were exposed had problems with their motor skills and their immune system was affected. One thing is for sure is PCBs aren’t known to cause birth defects.
PCBs aren’t just harmful to people, they are also very harmful to animals. Because of course scientist can’t test the effects of PCBs on humans they decided to test it on animals. The PCBs affects the immune system, the reproductive system and even endocrine system. Some liver damage occurs, only one died of liver cancer. And then there are thyroid gland injuries. Now those facts were only tested on animals so people aren’t exactly sure if humans will have the same result.
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Environmental Implications
The chemical formula for all PCBs is C12H10Cl. PCBs are difficult chemicals; it’s very difficult to eliminate it from the world. PCB For one this chemical never breaks completely down. PCBs usually stay on the surface of soil or wherever it is located. Also factories aren’t doing their part to be careful either. When cleaning up the toxin more is being spread and soon there’s going to be more waste sights then what you started out with.
PCBs are also in some rivers and lakes. There are small fish that may be contaminated. Bigger fish eats them and then steps contain in the food chain. It winds up that humans eat this fish and this leads to them having PCBs in their system.
This makes getting rid of PCBs a lot harder. Since it binds to the soil it’s going to be hard to get it to separate itself ergo it would be easier if people disposed the toxin correctly the first time. By doing that there would be fewer areas that needed to be cleaned.
So far in order to get rid of PCBs there are specific and special companies that take action. Some work on going to places and eliminating the contaminated area. Others feel the need for you to send them the contaminated object if it can be sent.
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Economic/ Political Impact
In 1979 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were banned. They were banned because this chemical never breaks down. Because it doesn’t break down it’s harder to get rid of and that makes it such a dangerous chemical. Of course PCBs are still out there but now that people see that they’re banned they may take them seriously.
Before PCBs were banned they were used in a lot of things. One example is that they were used in wood floor finishes. Fabulon was the name of finish and it was used in an old age home. When some of the elders became sick they found out that it was because of the floors. When they found out that the finish contained PCBs Fabulon was taken off shelves. You can still buy Fabulon not around here but online it can be ordered. It cost $40 per gallon compared to wood floor finishes created today which only cost about $21 per gallon. Since 1979 this chemical isn’t even allowed to be imported or exported.
Because this chemical is banned people seem to somewhat pay attention to it more, which you should. Everyone can now see how serious this chemical it is. The effect it has on people is horrible. Which therefore makes them aware when going to certain place that could contain PCBs. If this chemical wasn’t banned I don’t think people would be cautious of exposure
There are no consequences for banning this chemical but more like for taking so long to do so. Workers are frightened by the exposure. Other then that there wasn’t much controversy. There is nothing that anyone can do. Now that it is banned people don’t have to be too worried about it. It’s banned and that’s all that matters to some people. All they’re waiting for is for all those other dangerous chemicals to be banned too.
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Summary
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were created to help but instead they cause problems. So now we have to get rid of them. There are worker out there paid to clean up. But are they being paid enough because for some reason PCBs are increasing instead of decreasing. So then that brings up maybe more workers should be hired. People need to spread out and find out exactly where all of these PCBs are located.
Also all of the sites containing these PCBs need to be dealt with when animals cross through the area they are just spreading it. But mostly these PCBs are seeping into the soil and it’s going to take decades to get rid of it.
Mostly the thing people need to focus on the most is the testing on animals. Because humans can’t be tested they use animals and it’s not helping anything. Instead by using the animals you are just seeing what PCBs does to them. Testing on animals doesn’t prove anything. Instead it just hurts animals and makes scientist want to ask more questions.
So in the end I say that these PCBs should be rid of soon. They need to stop putting it off and just do it. Help the community out and put peoples health first. And lastly but not least testing PCBs on animals should not continue because it causes more problems rather then helping. If scientists are that desperate for results they need to test it on themselves.
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Table of Contents
Polychlorinated BiphenylsAbstract
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are man made chemicals brought into the world in the 1900’s. It turned out to be a chemical that made people sick so it was banned in 1979. PCBs were created because people felt that it would be an asset. They put them in electrical equipment, paint, wood floor finishes, and carbonless copy paper. PCBs stray in the soil and other areas for long periods of time. In other words this chemical cannot break down. So even though they are not wanted they are still around in different places.PCBs cause so much trouble. When you’re exposed to PCBs some health problems can occur. There can be skin damage, organ damage, and damage if you are expecting a child. Depending on how long you are around them the amount of damage changes. Those who work on PCB contaminated sites are in danger and even those who just eat things that were contaminated are in danger. PCBs aren’t just bad for people they are also very bad for animals too.People mostly scientist need to take this chemical seriously. I think they need to put more force into getting it all out of the area. They’re wasting time; everyday that they let go by is another area that is now contaminated. There are certain people that are hired to get rid of these PCBs but in my opinion I don’t think they are working as hard as they could be. PCBs aren’t good so why aren’t they doing something different?_
Background
Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCBs) is a chemical that isn’t much of an asset to the community. They were once used in electrical equipment, paint, wood floor finishes, and involved in carbonless copy paper.At first this chemical seemed as though it would help and it would benefit the world, but it backfired. This chemical has no high points at all. There was never a time where it actually helped, instead it made things worse.When scientist found out that PCBs were causing problems the chemical was banned in certain areas. Sadly the damage had already been done. In most areas the chemical was not properly thrown out so it started to spread in areas where it shouldn’t have.Today you can sometimes find PCBs in fish, poultry, and dairy products. It has been banned in the United States but some places such as Europe, Asia, and Canada still have some. Those places may use the PCBs for electrical purposes but too much exposure to it will cause damage to who ever._
Synthesis Production
Since this chemical was all around harmful there was no way to tweak it to be something different. Instead it was just easier to ban them and ban the import and export of the chemicals.
Human Health Implications
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) weren’t much help to our world. In fact it turned out to be something that caused many problems. When exposed to many PCBs health issues can occur. There can be skin damage, organ damage, and damage if you are expecting a child.One reaction to being exposed to PCBs is horrible skin damage. Most of the time depending on how much exposure, the damage can pop up as acne, rashes, and small yellow skin lesions. These skin conditions can last weeks or even years.
Also depending on how long you are around PCBs, it could change your liver to look like the livers of people who smoke and drink.
It’s a slight chance that they can cause cancer but scientists aren’t one hundred percent sure. PCBs contain cancer-causing chemicals but there is no evidence. The low level of PCBs that they find in the environment makes it hard to decipher whether or not they are the problem.
It’s very important for those who are pregnant to be very careful. Just eating contaminated fish can be a problem. Women who were exposed gave birth to children who weighed a little less compared to the women who weren’t exposed. Also there were differences shown in the infants’ behavior, those who were exposed had problems with their motor skills and their immune system was affected. One thing is for sure is PCBs aren’t known to cause birth defects.
PCBs aren’t just harmful to people, they are also very harmful to animals. Because of course scientist can’t test the effects of PCBs on humans they decided to test it on animals. The PCBs affects the immune system, the reproductive system and even endocrine system. Some liver damage occurs, only one died of liver cancer. And then there are thyroid gland injuries. Now those facts were only tested on animals so people aren’t exactly sure if humans will have the same result.
_
Environmental Implications
The chemical formula for all PCBs is C12H10Cl. PCBs are difficult chemicals; it’s very difficult to eliminate it from the world. PCB For one this chemical never breaks completely down. PCBs usually stay on the surface of soil or wherever it is located. Also factories aren’t doing their part to be careful either. When cleaning up the toxin more is being spread and soon there’s going to be more waste sights then what you started out with.PCBs are also in some rivers and lakes. There are small fish that may be contaminated. Bigger fish eats them and then steps contain in the food chain. It winds up that humans eat this fish and this leads to them having PCBs in their system.
This makes getting rid of PCBs a lot harder. Since it binds to the soil it’s going to be hard to get it to separate itself ergo it would be easier if people disposed the toxin correctly the first time. By doing that there would be fewer areas that needed to be cleaned.
So far in order to get rid of PCBs there are specific and special companies that take action. Some work on going to places and eliminating the contaminated area. Others feel the need for you to send them the contaminated object if it can be sent.
_
Economic/ Political Impact
In 1979 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were banned. They were banned because this chemical never breaks down. Because it doesn’t break down it’s harder to get rid of and that makes it such a dangerous chemical. Of course PCBs are still out there but now that people see that they’re banned they may take them seriously.Before PCBs were banned they were used in a lot of things. One example is that they were used in wood floor finishes. Fabulon was the name of finish and it was used in an old age home. When some of the elders became sick they found out that it was because of the floors. When they found out that the finish contained PCBs Fabulon was taken off shelves. You can still buy Fabulon not around here but online it can be ordered. It cost $40 per gallon compared to wood floor finishes created today which only cost about $21 per gallon. Since 1979 this chemical isn’t even allowed to be imported or exported.
Because this chemical is banned people seem to somewhat pay attention to it more, which you should. Everyone can now see how serious this chemical it is. The effect it has on people is horrible. Which therefore makes them aware when going to certain place that could contain PCBs. If this chemical wasn’t banned I don’t think people would be cautious of exposure
There are no consequences for banning this chemical but more like for taking so long to do so. Workers are frightened by the exposure. Other then that there wasn’t much controversy. There is nothing that anyone can do. Now that it is banned people don’t have to be too worried about it. It’s banned and that’s all that matters to some people. All they’re waiting for is for all those other dangerous chemicals to be banned too.
_
Summary
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were created to help but instead they cause problems. So now we have to get rid of them. There are worker out there paid to clean up. But are they being paid enough because for some reason PCBs are increasing instead of decreasing. So then that brings up maybe more workers should be hired. People need to spread out and find out exactly where all of these PCBs are located.Also all of the sites containing these PCBs need to be dealt with when animals cross through the area they are just spreading it. But mostly these PCBs are seeping into the soil and it’s going to take decades to get rid of it.
Mostly the thing people need to focus on the most is the testing on animals. Because humans can’t be tested they use animals and it’s not helping anything. Instead by using the animals you are just seeing what PCBs does to them. Testing on animals doesn’t prove anything. Instead it just hurts animals and makes scientist want to ask more questions.
So in the end I say that these PCBs should be rid of soon. They need to stop putting it off and just do it. Help the community out and put peoples health first. And lastly but not least testing PCBs on animals should not continue because it causes more problems rather then helping. If scientists are that desperate for results they need to test it on themselves.
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